The Power of Persistence: How Bruno LeGreco Keeps The Biscotti Company Growing
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Bruno LeGreco is never one to sit still. Having gone through several career iterations earlier in life, he was ready to go all in once he started The Biscotti Company four years ago. But there’s nothing easy about food entrepreneurship, and Bruno’s sharing lessons he’s learned along the way.
In this episode, Bruno tells the story of how he founded The Biscotti Company, the disciplined and persistent method he used to ensure sales growth for his company, and the never-ending navigation of finances (including a lesson learned the hard way.)
Plus, if you’ve ever wanted to know how Hudson Kitchen helps CPG entrepreneurs start off on the right foot, Bruno tells the whole story about how the Food Business Bootcamp helped him launch The Biscotti Company (including resources he still uses from them today!)
Bruno has such amazing energy and offers story after story for us. You’re going to absolutely love this episode.
Subscribe to the Food Means Business Podcast with Hudson Kitchen founder Djenaba Johnson-Jones to hear the personal stories and “secret ingredients” of abandoning your day job and starting a CPG food business.
In this episode, you’ll learn...
[00:46] Bruno’s seven-year-itch and how he bootstrapped his biscotti business from the start
[10:21] How goal-setting and sheer persistence helped Bruno grow his business early
[16:37] How Bruno navigated selling in-person and getting samples to potential customers in the midst of the pandemic
[22:10] Bruno biggest challenge in four years of business (spoiler: it’s finances, but not necessarily in the way you’d think)
[25:40] The tough lesson Bruno had to learn the hard way
If you’re a CPG entrepreneur looking for a relatable and inspiring story from a fellow business owner in the trenches, be sure to tune into this episode:
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About Bruno LeGreco
With over 20 years of experience as a master life coach and mentor, Bruno has helped thousands of people achieve their full potential, happiness, and success. He is the creator of The TCS (Tri-Commitment Success) System, a powerful personal development program that increases emotional intelligence and self-confidence. He is also the author of two books, Polishing The Diamond Within and Stop Sabotaging Your Life, that offer practical and inspiring guidance to overcome self-limiting beliefs and habits.
Since Jan 2020, he has been pursuing his passion for baking as a small business owner at The Biscotti Company, an artisan bakery that produces handcrafted cookies made from almonds, chocolate, and natural ingredients. He combines his entrepreneurial skills with his life coaching expertise to create a positive and supportive work environment for my team and a delightful and satisfying experience for my customers. He is also a spokesperson for Healthy Choice Gourmet Steamers, Nokia Lumia, and other major brands, and a featured guest on Canada’s Smash Hit Series Style by Jury.
Connect with Bruno LeGreco:
Visit The Biscotti Company website
Follow The Biscotti Company on Instagram
Follow The Biscotti Company on Facebook
Connect with Bruno on LinkedIn
Stay Connected with Djenaba Johnson-Jones:
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[00:00:00] Djenaba: You are listening to the Food Means Business podcast, which features the personal stories and secret ingredients behind what it's like to abandon your day job to start a CPG food and beverage business. I’m Djenaba Johnson-Jones, former marketing executive turned entrepreneur and founder of food business incubator Hudson kitchen.
[00:00:20] Join our community of fellow food business owners and subject matter experts to learn and laugh with us as we explore a startup world. That's a little more culinary and a lot less corporate these days. Bruno, welcome to the food means business podcast.
[00:00:34] Bruno: Thank you for having me.
[00:00:35] Djenaba: Absolutely. So before we jump into your company, the society company would love to hear about you and your career trajectory.
[00:00:42] What led you from working in a different career to owning up the business?
[00:00:46] Bruno: Oh, my, that's a loaded question. Where do I, where do I start? So I have an extensive background. I'm the ultimate entrepreneur. And I get a scratch or an itch every seven years. So my career starts way [00:01:00] back. I actually started very young age in the food and beverage industry.
[00:01:02] I, you know, we used to work for hotels, specifically the Howard Johnson. That was the food and beverage manager. You know, when you're young, that's where you go. I think, right. Either, you know, fast food McDonald's or, you know, in a hotel. And so growing up, that's where I ended up, you know, in a old fashioned kind of state.
[00:01:18] Yeah. So I started there. And then as I got a little bit more experienced, a little bit more mature, I decided to hop ship and got into the corporate role. So I was more specifically, I was in IT services sourcing. So my role would be to outsource all of IT services, uh, overseas. So that was my twenties. And during that time, I became a life coach for the pharmaceutical company that I was working.
[00:01:42] So it wasn't called a life coach. It was actually considered a, uh, a 360 coach where we would help employees, you know, either fast track or help them improve in a, in a very specific aspect or more effectively in their role. And then, so you can only do that. Like I said, I get the itch every seven years.
[00:01:58] We did that for about seven years. [00:02:00] And then I moved on and then that's when I transitioned into becoming a life coach and a therapist, uh, back in 2006. So just after about 10 years and during that time, I would often use baking biscotti or biscotti. As a modality to distract reactive clients. So clients that, you know, come in week after week and, you know, want to, in fear of lumination but the past.
[00:02:24] I would distract them by, or I'll distract them by having them bake biscotti that day. And while they were baking biscotti, I would ask them questions. And because they weren't paying attention to the questions I was asking them, they were more, You know, focused on baking biscotti, they would have like all the moments, they would have very profound conclusions to what does that mean, their answers, they're very profound.
[00:02:44] And so it was a great session. So a lot of times a lot of people would say, Oh, you gotta take this biscotti, this recipe to market. And I'd be like, man, forget it. You know, I'm a life coach, not a baker or so I thought at that time. So fast forward, I'm actually Canadian, you know, born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, [00:03:00] but I didn't meet my partner while working for my previous Uh, when I was outsourcing IT services overseas, I met my partner who is a New Yorker.
[00:03:09] So just to back up a little bit, my job actually was in New Jersey. I used to work for a pharmaceutical company in New Jersey. And so I met my partner, you know, while working at that company. So moving on, I ended up leading the pharmaceutical company. I did become a life coach slash therapist. And I did that for about 10 years.
[00:03:26] And then my partner for eight years, long distance going back and forth from Toronto, New York. We decided after eight years that, you know, one of us needed to hop ship. So because I was able to be more mobile, I decided that it was going to be me moving to New York city. So that's when I hopped ship moved to New York city.
[00:03:43] And then the next four years, what I saw was my, my practice that was literally an amazing, you know, revolving door clients, you know, every day dwindled down to by 2018, I've seen maybe like five or six clients a week. So you can sustain yourself with that kind of, you know, clientele. [00:04:00] So what I did was I took a page out of my own books and I've written two books in my past life as well.
[00:04:05] And in it, it's how to reinvent yourself, how to use your strengths, your values, and your needs. Thanks. To create a more productive or not more productive, more filling light for yourself, more filling, more in clear. And so I took a page out of my own book and then I discovered that Hudson kitchen was doing a reshape back in 2018, 2019 on how to start a food business.
[00:04:25] And so I decided that I was going to go into this bootcamp and, you know, participate, I think there's about 50 people there that day, you know, everybody from one startup potato salad company to. Pickling pickles, do chocolate chip cookies. And I thought, well, you know what, if everybody can do that, why can I not do biscotti?
[00:04:42] And so I just started that from that moment on that I was going to switch and transition my career from, you know, being a life coach to becoming a baker. And after that day, after I left the food camp, I set motion to get my licensing, to get certified, to start my LLC. And [00:05:00] then shortly, a few months later, uh, by March 1st, 2020, I had registered and it was ready to start my business.
[00:05:06] And then the pandemic happened. Oh, what luck? Yeah. So, so I mean, so that was like really the, the career transition from 2006, all the way to 2018, 19. I started with the Scotty company and that was fun. Let me tell you, starting a company during a pandemic, it got to be the rewarding, scary, motivating, and intimidating experience you'll ever experience because You've got to put yourself out there now, keep in mind during the pandemic, during that time.
[00:05:39] Okay. We're at the peak, you know, New York city shut down, you know, you know, a lot of vendors are not looking for, or not a lot of retailers looking for you vendors, you know, specifically during the pandemic, right. Or at the start of the pandemic. So here I am, you know, knocking on doors. Hi, my name is Darnell from Scotty company.
[00:05:56] And I can't even tell you how many people hung up the phone with me. They're like, not right [00:06:00] now. You know, there were two because everyone was ordering out. So, you know, so all these people or everybody in the restaurant industry, including, uh, grocery stores, all doing takeout. So they were more concerned about taking customers orders and fulfilling those orders more than, you know, worrying about a new guy that's starting up a Scotty company.
[00:06:17] And yeah, we got five free and everything up. So it was a little, uh, I have to say it was disheartening, but never once did I shot out of the equipment and I just, I just thought, you know, if I can just get beyond customers, I can use them and leverage them to kind of catapult myself to the next retail store.
[00:06:34] And so the very first customer I got was, uh, IGA up in the North port, up in Greenport in Long Island, I'd go shopping there. I'm from Greenport. So I went in and, you know, I asked the girl, the manager, I said, Hey, what's the product in here? And she says, well, you know, bring me a sample and I'll try it. And if I like it, I'll carry the product.
[00:06:53] So, you know, I went back to the kitchen, you know, we're going to do a battery, you know, take this over to her. So I flip the whip up the [00:07:00] batch and drive up to the IGA. Uh, she tried it and she loved it. She absolutely loved it. And she says, I'll carry it. And at that time I only had one flavor, chocolate almond biscotti, and that was it, it was just one flavor.
[00:07:13] So she said she'll carry it. And then I asked her, who's the, who's the, who can I talk to at IGA in South Pole that would carry my product? And so she gives me the individual's name, and so I went over there and introduced myself to that guy. And he was a hard nut. And he's like, No. I go, Oh, and he says, I can't carry your product.
[00:07:30] I'm like, why not? He goes, cause you don't have a line. He does. You only have one flavor. He goes, bring me three flavors and then we'll talk. He goes, not only just three flavors, you also need to display like an end cap or, you know, shipper that we can display your biscotti. So what? Okay, no problem. Right?
[00:07:46] So I went back to the kitchen and it was, for me, it was a really a no brainer. You have to stick with the classic. To me, the classic was growing up with my grandmother was chocolate almond. Almond. Dark chocolate orange off. So, I [00:08:00] already had the flavors in my back pocket, so I just produced them. And so I ran back over, I said, here's your three flavors, and he said, no problem.
[00:08:09] And he bought all three cases. And then at the same time, the IGA in Greenport started tailoring all three flavors too. And that was the beginning. And so we were probably about March, April of 2020. At the incubator where I, where I started the biscotti company, uh, after leaving Big Cap. I always feel kind of like guilty for leaving, uh, the Hudson, the Hudson kitchen.
[00:08:32] I kind of do, but so when I went to the senior intubators, there was the, uh, I guess the facility manager, uh, that was running the place. She said to me that in order for me to have a successful business, I needed at least. 50 wholesale accounts. And I'm like, okay, 50. I'm like, well, I can do that. It's a little daunting, but I'm like, you know what, as a life coach, I'm goal driven, right?
[00:08:52] You give me a target. And it's like, okay, how do we get that? So I'm like, okay, 50 wholesale accounts. How do I get this? So we went on Google, Google maps. [00:09:00] And I started doing searches on Long Island for anything Italian grocery, Italian markets, Italian delis, Italian or supermarkets, anything Italian or European or gourmet.
[00:09:11] And I made a huge list. That list and I started calling all of these people, asking them if I can come in and give them samples of my product. And you know, a lot of times because we were still in the pandemic, a lot of people would just hang up, hang up, hang up now, right now, right now. But there was the odd odd companies that would say, yes, come on in.
[00:09:29] And so I would go on in and, you know, sure enough, they would try the Muscati and they was like, yeah, I'll take a case of each. And there was only three cases. You know, it was like almond chocolate almond and the dark chocolate orange almond. And so like, I'm like, Hey, and so I'd be excited to go back, you know, do my batch and, you know, off you'd go and ship them.
[00:09:44] Oh, not ship it, drive it to them. Cause I was actually the baker, the delivery person, the accounts payable, the sales and marketing, it was a one man show. I did it all. And within a short period of time, because I had that goal in my head. 50 wholesale [00:10:00] accounts. That was it. I didn't stop. Every week I made sure that I called at least 10 to 15 new accounts and try to book at least two or three, scheduled two or three samples and lock in at least one.
[00:10:10] So every new, every week I was literally getting a new account. And before you knew it, within the year I actually had my 50
[00:10:17] Djenaba: accounts.
[00:10:18] Bruno: Yeah.
[00:10:19] Djenaba: Amazing story.
[00:10:20] Bruno: Thank you. I love that.
[00:10:21] Djenaba: I love that you're so goal oriented and, you know, kind of able to take that and run with it. And it's so important being an entrepreneur, as you know, to be successful, you gotta sell and you did it.
[00:10:32] Bruno: It's a numbers game. I mean, I can tell you stories now four years into this. I mean, I can like just yesterday, like really quick story, like people should never get discouraged about not getting ahold of a key buyer, you know, a retailer, you know, specifically as you get bigger and you have to get ahold of the main buyer for, for example, like a chain of grocery stores like Mercedes.
[00:10:52] Right. You have to get ahold of that main buyer. How do you do that? If you don't really know, you know, the landscape within that organization, you can call a store and ask, [00:11:00] you know, who it is, you know, and they may give you that number, but you have to keep figuring it out. You have to keep calling and, you know, you'll get different answers from different people, but I finally found a key buyer.
[00:11:08] And so, you know, I called them two years ago. It kind of like fell on deaf ears. Nothing ever happened. So I think I must've called like three or four times, not interested, not, not interested, whatever. So you know what you keep saying not interested. And one of the things that I try to tell customers, I don't take no for an answer, by the way.
[00:11:26] So I, as I'm sharing my story with you and they're saying not interested, I'm not saying, okay, thank you. Hanging up the phone. Right. I actually do say, you know what, before you do that specifically customers that say, well, we make our own, right? Right. Well, I tell them, yeah, I know you make your own, just like everyone makes their own chocolate chip cookies, but everyone sells Tate's as well.
[00:11:44] Same concept. Everyone's going to make biscotti, but you're going to also sell the biscotti company, right? It's just, we're just a different breed. We're in a category of our own, uh, you know, we're more of a brand. And so I hear that conversation, see where it goes. If they say no, I say to them, you know, is there a chance, let [00:12:00] me, let me send you samples.
[00:12:01] And then after that, Let's have a conversation. And so most times they'll say, yes, send me the samples and then we'll see whatever happens. Sometimes the end conversation is good. They place an order and life is good. A lot of times they say no, and they hang up on me. And that's cool too. Well, yesterday I found I was cleaning my desk and I found the guys numbered I called two years ago that, you know, ghosted me and didn't want nothing to do with me.
[00:12:23] And as luck would have it. It changed. Yesterday's tune changed. So yesterday we called and he says, yes, I want samples. He also told me that he was the main buyer for 17 locations tied to a big distributor in Massachusetts called Bizutto's, but he doesn't want me to go through them. Uh, and I'm not going to say too much because I know this is going to go, you know, yet, but we're going to, he's in.
[00:12:45] And so, okay. So as luck would happen, there's three IJs that I'm not in. Uh, Montauk, East Hampton, and Amaganza. He is the main buyer for all three of those locations, [00:13:00] plus 14 more in Connecticut. So when people say no, or when you can't get ahold of somebody, or they close the phone, don't take that as a deliberate or absolute no.
[00:13:10] It's not. You know what? Things change. You may want to call in six months. You may want to call in a year from now. You're going to get a different answer. And I have another one of these stories where yet again, where I went after a customer for four years and for every year. And, and I make notes. So when I call customers, specifically the ones that are really want, and they say no to me after a few attempts, I make a note what it is that we spoke about when I called last.
[00:13:32] And then I actually make a note when to call again. Okay. And so for this specific guy, because he was the main buyer for this big organization. I said, call once a year. Okay. So for three years in April, April 1st on April Fool's Day, I would call. And every April he says, yes, send me your, send me your cell sheet, send me your information.
[00:13:51] And then I try to follow up and crickets and crickets and crickets and crickets and crickets. Well, this year yet again, it was going through my notes in April. And I said, Oh, [00:14:00] look, let's call again. Just lapsing giggles. I know what he's going to say. No big deal. This time I, it was like 10 o'clock in the morning.
[00:14:07] And he says to me, he goes, yes, he goes, you know, when, in fact, why don't you send me samples right away? I'm like, oh, well, this is different from the previous readers. And the conversation almost was like, he didn't even know who I was. And we'd never spoken before. He had no clue who I was. No clue. He calls me that afternoon at 2pm and says, where are my samples?
[00:14:27] And you're like, well, just, yeah, well, well, well, okay, I'll tell you what, I'll overnight them. You'll get them tomorrow. Sunday morning at 6 30 AM, this man is texting me, telling me how delicious my product is and that we need to talk. And so, you know, six 30, Sunday morning, and I'm a morning person. I've already actually gone up, gone to the gym, did a few deliveries and here I am at nine 30 in the morning.
[00:14:50] So I'm actually contemplating, do I respond? He's like, I don't want to do anything like, you know, out of context. I don't want to say something that's going to sound like. [00:15:00] Off or off putting. Do I respond to this individual at 6 30 on a Sunday morning? But you know what? It got the best of me. And I finally did respond back and I said, I'm so glad you enjoyed them.
[00:15:09] Can we schedule time for us to talk? And he says, absolutely. Let's talk tomorrow morning, Monday morning at 10 AM. We did that. And that was perfect. So we ended up hopping on a call 10 o'clock that morning and he's excited. He wants to carry the brand. He wants to, he wants to populate all his stores.
[00:15:23] There's actually six. Umbrella stores or six different, I guess, retail chains under this one individual, but we're going to start with one rather than all six. And so he's all excited. And then there comes a caveat. Ready?
[00:15:35] Djenaba: Okay.
[00:15:36] Bruno: In order for us to carry you, you must be distributed by this distributor. Right.
[00:15:41] Uh, so I've had this happen before where, you know, a customer is really excited, but the only way they carry you, you have to go through that distributor. Okay. And it becomes like a catch 22, because then you call the distributor and they'll say, well, we can only carry you if they give us a PO for your products.
[00:15:58] Well, they can't give me a PO [00:16:00] because they need you to be able to carry that product first. And then they'll get the PO. So you're caught in this like catch 22. And I'm like, Oh no, here we go again. I just went through this last year again, but this time when a buyer really likes your product, they're going to give you the main content at the distributors and they're going to tell that distributor that they really want your product.
[00:16:19] And to make this happen. And lo and behold, it happens, right? So it goes from being discouraged, you know, four years, you know, like wasting you thinking and believing that you're wasting your time doing these follow up calls, but yet you just never know that fourth call, that fifth call could be the jackpot call.
[00:16:37] Djenaba: That is wow. Amazing. I want to, I want to go back a little bit cause I wanted to understand like you launched in these 50 stores during 2020 global pandemic, New York city is closed down. People are wearing gloves and masks to the grocery store. How did you. Sell a new product that way like you couldn't sample like what was how did you make sure people knew?
[00:16:58] About your product.
[00:16:59] Bruno: You would [00:17:00] walk in with a mask and a shield. They know you're covered, right? Some of them would take the product out of your hand, the samples and had no fear and would open right in front of you and start sampling away. And then there are other ones that would take the sample and they'll say, we'll get back to you.
[00:17:17] You know, and I get into my car and a few minutes after leaving the parking lot, I'd get phone calls saying, we'll take a case of each. So it was. Two things. One, I didn't look at the pandemic as a complete hindrance as I cannot do this. I looked at it as I have to make, rather than showing up and saying, Hey, like salespeople would normally do at a grocery store, I would make my phone calls, make appointments.
[00:17:38] So they knew I was coming. That was one. And then two, just protecting yourself because we were, we were, we were essential. Uh, personnel, right? Because we're in the food industry, so we were allowed to be out and about and to do our business, but making sure that we were still safe. So that's how I did it.
[00:17:52] So one, protecting myself, and two, just making those phone calls every week and scheduling samples, tastings. You had to [00:18:00] do it.
[00:18:00] Djenaba: But what about the actual, the customer that's buying from the grocery store? Like the person that, you know, the mom or whatever, that's just walking in to buy something for her family, like how did they know about the product?
[00:18:10] Bruno: Right. So that, let me give you an example. One of the grocery stores up in, uh, Oyster Bay took all three cases. So the almond chocolate, dark chocolate, orange almond, and they ended up having to Put this, the product on the shelf for three months at an introductory offer at a lower cost. So that way people were kind of like, okay, well, if it's good, it's good.
[00:18:29] But if it's not good, I'm only wasting X amount of money. And so that's the kind of deals that I was trying to make with grocery stores. So, you know, I wasn't making a whole lot of money back then. There was not a lot of profit because it was really just, you know, let's do an introductory offer, uh, to get people to get, try the product.
[00:18:43] And then, you know, from there, then we can, you know, jack up the price to the appropriate cost. When the consumers got a feel for it. So it was really kind of like a gamble more than anything. It's, you know, like the, the grocery stores were taking a gamble on me and I was gambling on the grocery stores that they would reorder, uh, hoping that [00:19:00] customers would be lured by the cost and the packaging, right?
[00:19:03] The white bag like, kind of looks like, you know, you know, fresh out of a bakery. That was the, the go where from the get go. 'cause I knew that, you know, being in a pandemic. It's not like you, you can walk in at a store and do demonstrations and, you know, hand samples to people, you weren't allowed to do that.
[00:19:18] So you're really going out the seat of your pants, hoping that customers would be drawn by bag and the cost. And of course, you know, if you're a biscotti lover and the cost is right and the bags looks attracting, you're going to probably go for it.
[00:19:31] Djenaba: Right. You were a one man show. At what point did you say, okay, I can't do this by myself anymore.
[00:19:37] I've got to hire some staff to help
[00:19:40] Bruno: me? Yeah. It got to the point where I couldn't keep up with the deliveries and the, the volume that I had to bake to make those deliveries. So like I, it's like, okay, I can't do both. It's either I'm gonna do delivery or I'm gonna do baking. So I decided to go the other route.
[00:19:53] So I decided to continue to bake 'cause I don't trust anybody, or I didn't trust anybody to maintain the level of right.[00:20:00]
[00:20:02] So I didn't want to just, you know, here's the formula to somebody, you have to sign an NDA and let's hope that you can produce the same product as me. So what I ended up doing was finding DSDs, direct to store delivery individuals. So companies that would deliver my product to the retail outlets and then as well as distribution.
[00:20:18] So that's how I was able to avoid getting a new employee at that point. So offloading the delivery to delivery companies, and that allowed me to focus solely on baking during the day, which And then in the afternoon, after baking, I would get on the phone and start making all my crazy phone calls. Yeah.
[00:20:35] The sales and marketing never stops. It's like, I can't stress this enough. Okay. People need to understand the 80, 20 rule. Okay. Even though there, you have like, you know, 50 wholesaler customers, only 20 percent of those people are going to be 80 percent of your revenue. Right. Okay. It's that 20 80 and all, it's always that way straight across the board.
[00:20:56] You can have like a hundred customers and only 20 percent of them are going [00:21:00] to generate 80 percent of your revenue. It's just the way it is. So you never stop with the sales and marketing effort. You cannot stop because even though you may have a good customer today, you know, like for example, you know, things happen, like anything could happen, you know, where we had a situation where one retailer decided to, even after negotiations, You know, and what the suggested retail price was, they decided to undercut everybody and me how, uh, after all that.
[00:21:24] And so, you know, we got a few customers, retailers calling saying, Hey, we're no longer going to share your product because our customers are now going to exploit and Z and buying it for. This product or this much, so you cannot stop that effort because you just never know what's going to happen, what could happen and you just might lose one of your, you know, gravy trail accounts and now you're back to square one.
[00:21:45] So the sales and marketing effort just never stops. You just keep going. You just keep building and building and building because if you start to rely on low hanging fruit, you're going to run out of it very, very fast.
[00:21:58] Djenaba: It's definitely a long [00:22:00] game. Like you had mentioned, like I've been calling somebody for three years before they finally pick up the phone and said, yes.
[00:22:05] So like, it totally makes sense to keep going, going and going.
[00:22:08] Bruno: You got to keep going. Yeah.
[00:22:10] Djenaba: I know launching a business in a pandemic was actually challenging, but I'm wondering like, what is, what was your biggest challenge in the, over the past four years? And like, how have you kind of overcome that?
[00:22:19] Bruno: Oh God, it's always finances.
[00:22:22] It's, it's, it's the bigger you get, the more money you need. So you have to, so it all depends on how you do this, right? I mean, you can be self funded, which I'm 100 percent self funded, or you could do a loan or, you know, get an equity firm to help you out, or, you know, you could do all kinds of stuff, you know, you can raise capital.
[00:22:38] You know, I decided that I'm a little bit of a control freak and I want to manage this whole thing all on my own. I'm not interested in giving it any percentage away at this point. Like I'm just not, uh, you know, if I can self fund, I can self fund. So when I first started the company, I started with X amount of my own money.
[00:22:51] And that took me for the first two years, right? But now that we're bigger, we're not doing like, you know, 20, 000 bags or 20, 000 units a year, you know, [00:23:00] we're up to like 150, 000 units a year, which means you got to buy 150 to 200, 000 bags a year. So you got to like shell out that cash upfront. And you may not have it.
[00:23:10] So finances, you know, and so this is part of the strategic planning and looking long term of where you're at, where you're at and where you want to go to make sure that you're planning for these situations. And although I planned for some of these situations, I really wasn't banking on it, you know, having to buy 150, 000, 200, 000 bags, you know, in year four, which could be up to 50, 000 bucks.
[00:23:30] Like, you know, and you got to spend that money up front. You know, it's not like you can, you know, order bags and, you know, pay it down over the course of a year. Does it work that way? So finance is always my biggest hurdle. It's always making sure that I'm looking ahead and planning and strategically planning, uh, for growth as well as, you know, uh, run rate as, uh, at the same time.
[00:23:50] And it's, it's one of these kinds of games. It's a juggling, it's a juggle. It's fun. The other thing that's been a struggle and, So this one's a really bad one because it [00:24:00] really kind of strikes that my past experience and, you know, where I've been and not utilizing a hundred percent of my knowledge for my benefit.
[00:24:09] So it doesn't matter how small you are. It doesn't matter where you're at in your, your business venture. You really need to be buttoned up. And you really need to make sure that, you know, when you're working with people and we're talking, you know, thousands of dollars that you're doing your work, you're doing your due diligence, you're doing your background checks, you're doing your credit checks, you know, you're making sure that the people that you work with, when you become, when you start working with big distributors, They're gonna make you jump through hoops.
[00:24:37] Okay, you need standing operating procedures You need to make sure there's recall procedures any kind of equipment that you have you have standard operating procedures for that equipment They really make you jump through hoops. Okay, you have to understand that there's a reason for that And you yourself, doesn't matter how small of a company you have, you have to implement some of these standing operating procedures within your own organization before something bad [00:25:00] really happens to you.
[00:25:01] I'm going to, I'm not going to share the gravity of what happened, but suffice to say that I did follow my own rules because I was just so excited. You know, they dangle the carrot, make it seem like, Oh, you want this? And of course I want, right. And the, the carrot sometimes makes you become blind. To what you really need to do and it doesn't matter how small you are, you need to really be buttoned up.
[00:25:24] You got to do your credit checks, you got to do your background checks, you got to make sure that, you know, the people that you're working with are buttoned up, that they have standing operative procedures, that they have recall procedures as well. It's critical, it's important, and they should never be looked over.
[00:25:39] That's all I'm going to say.
[00:25:40] Djenaba: No, no, I think that's really important point. Like I, you know, obviously I work with a bunch of small businesses and we have all these, we have a lot of requirements to work with us as well, but for good reason, because for instance, like you said, like you've got to have the standard operating procedures in place because you kind of want to mitigate all the risks that you can, and that, you know, it's definitely.
[00:25:59] [00:26:00] So important. Yeah.
[00:26:01] Bruno: Yeah. I mean, if you can mitigate and you really don't know what you're mitigating when you're green and the landscape is like, what you don't really mitigating, but just be assured that if you just take the time and, you know, you know, like understand that when you're working with.
[00:26:16] customers or vendors and there's an exchange of cash, you know, you got to do your credit check. You got to make sure that you're checking up on them, that they don't have anything that is going to raise the red flags that, you know, maybe you don't want to give extended credit. Maybe you want to do COD, you know, you want to make sure that you get paid for one order before you release another order.
[00:26:34] It's, it's very important because you know, what the carrot is always delicious, but it, that's why they call it the carrot. They dangle the carrot, uh, because what's to come may not be as delicious as that carrot. Or sweet as that carrot, you know, so yeah, so that was, those two things are pain points, if you will.
[00:26:53] I mean, real big pain points for me, like, and they're both in the area of finance, which really sucks when you're a small business. [00:27:00] So school of hard knocks, you know, sometimes the, you know, it's called the school of hard knocks because you can't learn this anywhere else. And you know, it is what it is
[00:27:08] Djenaba: like no one else can tell you, but until you experience it, you just.
[00:27:13] You just don't, you just don't know.
[00:27:15] Bruno: Yes. You got it. Yes. I should have known better, but that's the thing, you know, with my background, my experience and everything that I had to make other people jump through when I'm working in a big. Pharmaceutical company, fortune 500. I should have known better. Should have known better.
[00:27:32] You know what? I'm not the only one because I, I work with other people that have been in the fortune 500 world as well. You know, in the nonprofit that make the similar, make similar mistakes as me. This is not just exclusive to me. We all do it. You know what? We're all human. And sometimes when we're out of that environment where we don't have people watching over us, we tend to become lax a daisy.
[00:27:52] Right there. You can get into a lot of trouble, especially when you're managing oneself.
[00:27:57] Djenaba: It's true. It is true. With all the other things going on, [00:28:00] there's a lot to consider from a day to day. 100%.
[00:28:03] Bruno: Yeah, that's one area I think I'll never, you know, it doesn't matter how busy you are. You got to do your due diligence.
[00:28:09] Yep. You must, especially when you're working with new companies, new distributors, new funders. Please, please, please just do your due diligence. That's all I'm going to say.
[00:28:18] Djenaba: So as we just talked about, there's a lot of ups and downs in entrepreneurship. So I'm wondering, what do you do? to take care of yourself.
[00:28:25] And I know you're working, still working quite a bit, but there's gotta be a little bit of downtime. What are you doing during that time?
[00:28:31] Bruno: There's downtime. I mean, there's not a lot, but I try to take every day I work out. So part of my, you know, starting my day is, you know, doing at least 15, 20 minutes of cardiovascular exercise followed by, you know, at least 40 minutes of weight training.
[00:28:44] And that gets me into the right mindset to be able to focus on the day. And I get that done first thing in the morning, it's gotta be first thing in the morning. So that way I can focus on the day ahead. So that's one thing. The other thing I do is, you know, baths are really good and I'm sure that I'm a guy.
[00:28:58] Sometimes just, you [00:29:00] know, a hot bath, you know, with Epsom salt, you know, you're on your feet all day long. I just need to turn it off. I don't want to think about the accounts. I don't want to think about the finances. I don't want to think about any of it. I just don't want to think about the orders or how I'm going to fill the orders.
[00:29:13] I just need to turn all off and being able to just lie in a hot bath with Epsom salt was, you know, just no background noise at all. Just allows me to just become one again, and that is critical because I'm an introvert and to just turn it all off and to come back to one self is very important where I could snap.
[00:29:34] Djenaba: No, that, that meeting actually sounds really, really, yeah.
[00:29:37] Bruno: But I am looking forward to my next trip, which is coming up very soon, probably February, and I'm planning to go to Italy and it will be the first trip. Yeah. It'll be the first trip since, uh, since the pandemic, since I've actually started the biscotti company, the last time we went on vacation was 2018.
[00:29:52] Yeah. So I'm long overdue. So between the working out and then a little bit of meditation, the other thing that I, [00:30:00] it gets me kind of balanced or centered is this, you know, outlook as to my before the ability to just foresee or actually await whatever the wording is, you know, coming up this February that I'm going on vacation.
[00:30:13] That keeps me going every day as well.
[00:30:15] Djenaba: Yeah, that's really exciting. Definitely something to look forward to.
[00:30:18] Bruno: There you go. Look forward to
[00:30:19] Djenaba: it. You kind of started your journey with pets in kitchen and business boot camp. And I just left, you just tell everybody like what you kind of got out of the course,
[00:30:29] Bruno: everything, everything, everything.
[00:30:31] Okay. So first off, you get a workbook. I don't know if you guys still do that, but I got a workbook. You know, sometimes when you're an entrepreneur and you want to start a company, you just don't know where to turn. What licensing do I need? What certifications are required? You know, how do I even start an LLC?
[00:30:46] You know, those are questions that people have and they don't know what format, what step, what's first, what's second. And what I love about coming to the bootcamp is that, that, that manual with a step by step and straight, this is what you need to do. This is where you need to [00:31:00] go. This is the website. It's like, you literally took it all away.
[00:31:04] Like all the hard work of what you need to do and you put it into a step by step. Like workbook that is just like my, my guide. And not only that, what else I got from that was first was the inspiration. Okay. Just knowing that I'm around other entrepreneurs that have ambitions to start other kinds of food businesses, you know, kind of gives you the motivation kind of like, well, if they can do that, so can I, okay.
[00:31:25] Then you have the workbook that gives you step by step instruction on every certification you will require for both New Jersey and New York state, which it doesn't get any easier than that. Along with the websites. Further, some of the other questions I had was, okay, well, what do I sell my products for?
[00:31:42] Well, you know what, thanks to the workbook, we can, you know, we can figure out what we need to sell our product for as well. I mean, those are the, like the things that pop out of my head. Like, it was just such a valuable tool that it's like, you can't put a price tag on it. That's what I got from both the bootcamp itself and that workbook, which [00:32:00] I hold near and dear to my heart.
[00:32:01] I prize it. I hand it out once in a while. I may lend it up to somebody for one day and then I go right back for it because it's mine. Okay. Because even to this day, like there's sometimes I've flipped through it. There's certain things like, you know, costing, there was other instructional stuff that you guys had in there as well.
[00:32:16] I mean, I haven't, I haven't looked at in a few months, but There's work instructions and the workbook was just loaded with information and resources that for any entrepreneur that's looking to start a boot camp or start a food company, it's invaluable.
[00:32:29] Djenaba: Thank you so much for saying that
[00:32:33] at Hudson kitchen. We have what we call the money bell that we ring. We're celebrating something. So I'm wondering what are you celebrating? It could be personal or professional.
[00:32:42] Bruno: Well, okay. Oh, it almost sounds like I'm bragging, but why not?
[00:32:49] Djenaba: It's important.
[00:32:50] Bruno: So as you know, we were at the fancy food show last week at the Javits center.
[00:32:54] And while we were there, we were approached by a number of agents that represent [00:33:00] QVC. And, uh, we finally locked down, uh, with one of the agents and we are locked and loaded to be on QVC this holiday season. So, so that, that's, that's like, I'm really excited about that one.
[00:33:13] Djenaba: Amazing. Amazing. Congratulations.
[00:33:16] Bruno: Thank you.
[00:33:17] Djenaba: Bruno, thank you so much for being on the podcast. Let everyone know where they can find out about you and the Biscotti company.
[00:33:23] Bruno: Well, thank you so much for having me on. It's been an absolute pleasure. You can find the Biscotti company at the Biscotti company or Biscotti company. com. You can follow us on Facebook and Instagram at crunchy Biscotti, as well as our X or Twitter.
[00:33:37] Whatever it is, all our tags are crunchy biscotti. So our alias is crunchy biscotti in all platforms. So you can find us at any platform just by searching crunchy biscotti or visiting our website, www. thebiscotticompany. com. Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter. You get 20 percent off your first order and we deliver nationwide.
[00:33:57] Djenaba: Fantastic. Thank you.
[00:33:59] Bruno: Thank you so much [00:34:00] for having me.
[00:34:02] Djenaba: The Food Means Business podcast was produced by Hudson Kitchen. It is recorded at the studio at Kearney Point and mixed and edited by Wild Home Podcasting. Our theme song is by Damian DeSandis and I'm your host, Djenaba Johnson-Jones. Follow Hudson Kitchen on Instagram and Twitter.
[00:34:17] At the Hudson kitchen, and to get food business bites right in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter at the Hudson kitchen. com forward slash newsletter. Listen, follow, and leave a review on Apple podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts until next time.